Start of Something New
by Tiponi
Summary: Rose Weasley was a small girl, short and thin with petite features, no real muscle to show for, but her bouncing red curls and bright blue eyes stood out of a crowd. She would have been easily spotted, she figured, with her flaming red hair that only a Weasley could have, but, somehow, she had gotten herself lost.
1. Lost

The last week of August was always the busiest in Diagon Alley. Everyone who went to Hogwarts came from all around, floating around from shop to shop to get all their packages and school supplies. Most had excited smiles on their faces, some were laughing gaily with their friends, and one solitary girl sat in the middle of it all, tears streaking down her face.

Rose Weasley was a small girl, short and thin with petite features, no real muscle to show for, but her bouncing red curls and bright blue eyes stood out of a crowd. She would have been easily spotted, she figured, with her flaming red hair that only a Weasley could have, but, somehow, she had gotten herself lost.

Rose looked around through tear-filled eyes in hopes of finding her family. How could so many of them disappeared? The whole Weasley-Potter clan had come today, most of them with the same red hair she had (but not as curly, she got that from her Mum's side of the family).

With a pang Rose realized that they may have forgotten her - it was about four now, and they had been here since ten . . . what if they had finished shopping and gone home without her? They were all going to have supper at Grandma and Granddad Weasley's tonight, so they would probably think she was holed up somewhere reading her school books . . . they wouldn't even realize she was gone until later tonight.

A sob came out as Rose realized she was probably going to die.

Pulling her legs up to her chest, Rose buried her head in her knees and cried, her whole body shaking. Would Al say something? They were best friends, he had to notice if she was missing. Would her Dad notice? No, he wasn't normally very observant. Her Mum might, if she didn't just assume that she was off reading somewhere.

Curse me and my studying habits, Rose thought bitterly, her tiny hands fisting into balls in her anger.

Deciding that she had to do _something -_ she couldn't just sit around all night! - she stood up blindly and stormed angrily further into the Alley.

She didn't make it two steps before she knocked into someone. She backed up quickly and ran into someone else in her hast before falling on her face, her hands going out in front of her to break the fall. She felt a snap in her wrist and cried out in pain.

"Bloody hell!" she exclaimed before she curled up in a ball on the dirty ground and burst into tears, holding her wrist with one hand while the tears ran down her face.

Why did she have to come from such a bloody giant family? If her family had been smaller she might not have gotten lost and then she wouldn't have broken her stupid, bloody wrist.

Oh Merlin if her Mum knew how much she was swearing she'd have her head.

She felt someone kneel next to her and pull her up into their lap. She held onto the woman's robes tightly with her good hand, sobbing into her shoulder.

"Shh, it's okay," the woman said kindly, stroking her hair. "You're going to be just fine."

After a few moments Rose's sobs quieted and she looked up at the woman hugging her.

"There now," she said softly once Rose looked up, a breathtaking smile on her pretty face. This woman was beautiful, Rose decided, wishing she looked like her. She had long, blonde hair and soft features, while Rose had a beast on her head and freckles covering ever inch of her skin. "Can you stand?"

Rose nodded weakly, pushing herself up to stand and watching as the woman stood beside her. She looked behind her and saw a man and boy standing behind her, both looked so alike each other that you knew they had to be Father and son. The boy - who looked to be about her age - was looking at her with a worried expression, while the older man was staring at her as though in shock.

She looked back at the woman. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, her throat thick as her wrist throbbed with pain. "I didn't mean to run into you." Rose looked down at the lady's dress, which looked expensive and was very pretty, noting the dirt stains at the bottom of the fabric. Rose felt tears gather in her eyes again as she added, even quieter, "Or soil your dress."

The woman looked down at her dress in confusion before recognition dawned on her face. She smiled faintly. "It's okay, I wasn't particularly fond of it, anyway."

"You should have been," Rose said, sniffling. "It's very beautiful."

The woman looked over Rose's shoulder at who Rose assumed was her husband, an amused smile on her face. Rose blushed red as she heard a low chuckle behind her. She straightened up and her chin rose an inch or two - mimicking what her Mum did whenever she was offended or angry, because, right now, Rose was both. She crossed her arms over her chest unthinkingly and flinched when her wrist screamed with pain. Still, she tried her best to keep her stoic expression.

"Thank you for your kindness," Rose said, her voice harsh, making the woman turn towards her in surprise. "And I'm sorry, again, for running into you. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go find my family."

She spun on her heel quickly, her face determined, and walked a couple feet before walking into a venders cart on the side of the road. She swore loudly as her injured arm came into contact with the side of the cart, her face contorted with pain. Sucking in a quick gasp of air for strength, she tried to continue on her way, but suddenly got very dizzy.

"Merlin," she said, stumbling a few feet with her head in her good hand. Her wrist was throbbing, her stomach was churning and the tears falling from her eyes from the intense pain wasn't helping her sight.

She felt someone grab her shoulders gently, stopping her before she fell face first onto the side walk again.

"Why don't you sit down," a deep voice said. Rose turned her head and recognized the man from earlier. She felt her face get hot, but she took his advice and sat down on the nearest bench, his hands on her shoulders to stop her from falling.

"Now," he said, crouching down so he was at her eye level. "Where does it hurt?"

Mutely, Rose pointed towards her wrist, which was now twice it's normal size and slowly turning blue. She heard a sharp intake of breath and looked up to see the boy standing at the end of her bench. When he saw her looking he sent her a kind smile, which she tried to return but ended up yelping as the boy's father touched her wrist.

"Sorry," he said immediately, withdrawing his hand. "It's definitely broken. Would you like me to heal it for you?" he asked, taking his wand out of his robes and raising a pale blonde eyebrow at her.

Rose sniffled, reaching up to wipe tears off her cheeks with her good hand. "Will it hurt?" she whispered, staring straight into the man's grey eyes.

He nodded slowly. "Yes, but only for a moment."

Rose swallowed loudly, fisting her hand into her skirt tightly and biting her lip. After a moment she nodded, saying, "Just do it."

He smiled a bit at that and pointed his wand towards her wrist. He muttered a spell under his breath and Rose swore under her breath as she felt her bones snap back into place. A moment later a warm feeling spread through her arm, her wrist shrinking down to normal size and looking just like it had before.

Rose stared at it, a small smile on her face before turning towards the man in front of her. "Thank you!" she exclaimed with a brilliant smile.

He nodded once before standing up. Rose hopped off the bench cheerfully, feeling much better, before she realized she was still lost. And she was probably still going to die.

The boy saw her smile fall and walked up beside her. "Would you like an ice cream? I'll buy you one!"

Rose turned towards him in surprise, staring at him for a moment before grinning, her head nodding up and down and her hair flying everywhere.

The boy grinned. "Is it okay, Mum?"

The woman nodded at him, a small smile on her face, and before Rose knew what was happening the boy had grabbed her hand and was pulling her towards the ice cream shop.

Once they had ordered their treats, the two kids walked over and sat at a table, eating their ice cream happily.

"I'm Rose, by the way," Rose said, suddenly remembering her manners. "Rose Weasley."

The boy stared at her in shock for a full minute, his ice cream dripping onto the table steadily. His grey eyes were wide and his mouth was gaping open. It wasn't until Rose snapped right in front of his face that he jolted out of his shocked state.

"You're kidding," he said, before accidentally dropping a spoonful of ice cream onto the table. He scowled and swiped it up with his napkin sloppily.

Rose shook her head slowly. "No, that's my name."

"Huh," was all he said, staring at her for a moment longer before continuing, "My Dad has told me all about your family."

Rose looked over towards his parents, who were sitting a few tables away and were conversing quietly, occasionally looking over at the two of them. "Oh," she said quietly.

"Not bad things!" the boy exclaimed, taking her quiet as anger instead of wariness. Rose was used to people liking her for her family - nobody every helped Rose unless she would get them an autograph from the Golden Trio. Was this family going to be the same? "He speaks very highly of them."

Rose nodded silently and continued with her ice cream. She heard a loud sigh and looked over at the boy in front of her curiously. He was looking at her with a very serious expression on his face and Rose felt herself blush red.

"He really only says good things, I promise," he said solemnly. "I know that might be hard to believe, but it's true."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Why would that be hard to believe?"

The boy's eyes widened. "Don't you know who he is?" Rose shook her head and the boy stared at her in shock. "You don't?" he asked again, and Rose nodded once again. The boy sighed before saying, "My Dad is Draco Malfoy."

Rose's head snapped over to the boys father. He was staring back at her, his face stoic, but Rose could see the curiosity and wariness burning behind his silver eyes. She looked over his whole face and felt like smacking herself in the forehead. Why hadn't she realized before?

Of course she had seen Draco Malfoy in photos - he was in the Daily Prophet frequently and Rose had started reading the Daily Prophet at the tender age of five. She knew he had a wife, Astoria Malfoy nee Greengrass, and a son, - who was now sitting across from her - Scorpius Malfoy. She knew stories told to her by her parents from when they were in Hogwarts. They said he was mean then, but he had grown out of it. She knew he had been a Death Eater and had watched her Mother be tortured in the Drawing Room at Malfoy Manner. Her Mother said he didn't have a choice, her Father had never forgave him. Rose sided with her Mum.

Why didn't she recognize him before?

She stared at Mr. Malfoy for a moment longer before turning back to Scorpius, who was staring down at his ice cream gloomily.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked suddenly, staring at his shameful expression.

"You're going to run off now, aren't you?" Scorpius asked, eyes flickering between Rose's face and his melted ice cream.

"What? No," she said. "Why would I run off?"

"People always run off when they figure out who we are," he said bitterly. "Because we're Malfoy's and we're bad."

"Are you really bad?" Rose asked, a childish curiosity in her voice.

Scorpius shook his head. "Not really. My Dad used to work for Voldemort, but he was kind of forced into it. He didn't want to, I swear."

Rose took one look over at Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy before smiling at Scorpius. "I believe you," she said quietly. Scorpius's eyes snapped towards her own blue ones. Rose smiled before adding, "You bought me ice cream, and that makes you okay in my book."

Scorpius chuckled, looking up at her in admiration. "Can we be friends? I've never had a friend before."

Rose gaped at him. "You've never had a friend?"

Scorpius shook his head.

Rose shook her head in sympathy. "How did you live this long?"

Thinking she was serious, Scorpius blushed a light pink and shrugged, looking away from her. Rose giggled loudly.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, I was just joking," she said, still giggling madly.

Scorpius blush grew as he chuckled a bit. "I knew that - I was just . . . joking," he finished lamely, making Rose hoot in laughter.

"Good one," she said teasingly, making Scorpius grin, quickly getting the hang of her teasing. When she had finished laughing she looked up at the sky and noticed it was getting steadily darker. Looking around Diagon Alley she didn't see a single red head in sight. Her stomach twisted into a million knots as she realized her family really had forgotten her.

"What's wrong?" Scorpius asked anxiously, watching her face get steadily paler.

"Can you keep a secret?" she asked, looking over at Scorpius. "I mean, we are friends now, right?"

Scorpius nodded eagerly.

"And friends don't tell each other's secrets to anyone, right?"

Again, Scorpius nodded.

Rose nodded in return. "Okay, then. . . ." she leaned over the table towards Scorpius, who leaned in close until they were inches apart. Rose took a deep breath and whispered, "I'm lost."

Scorpius's head drew back quickly as his eyes widened. "You're what?" he asked loudly and Rose shushed him, looking around to see everyone staring at them. She grabbed Scorpius by the collar and pulled him close to her face.

"Will you shush!" she hissed, waiting for everyone to look away before continuing. "I said I'm lost. My family forgot me here and they probably won't notice I'm gone until late tonight, because we were all supposed to have supper at Grandma and Granddad's tonight, so they'll think I'm off somewhere reading my new school books like I usually am and won't come looking for me until my parents decide to leave - which won't be until late tonight. And if they decide to spend the night then they won't notice I'm gone until tomorrow!"

Rose cut off as she realized she was crying. Scorpius's eyes were filled with pity as he watched her. She fell back into her chair and slumped against the table. "This has never happened before," she said, her voice muffled by her arms. "I've never been left behind, and now nobody even realizes I'm gone! No one has come looking for me and I've been lost since before I ran into your Mum!"

Scorpius watched her cry uncomfortably. He pulled at the collar of his shirt, played with a loose string coming from his robe's sleeve and stared around the ice cream parlor shyly. He met his parents curious gazes with a confused one before getting an idea.

"Rose," he said, reaching out a poking her arm softly.

She gave a small sniffle, but otherwise didn't respond.

"Come on, Rose," he whispered. "I've got an idea on how to get you home."

A moment later Rose looked up, staring at him through her big, red-rimmed, blue eyes. Scorpius pulled at his collar once more before saying.

"Do your Grandparents have the Floo set up?"

Rose nodded slowly. She cleared her throat before saying, "That's how we got here, but I can't start it myself."

Scorpius beamed. "I'll ask my parents! They'll help you."

Rose grinned at him, giving a loud, gleeful yelp before standing up quickly. "Can we ask them now?" she asked, her eyes glowing with happiness.

Scorpius's smile fell, but he nodded. "Yeah, okay." he stood up, too, pushing in his chair behind him. Rose copied him while watching him curiously.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Scorpius looked up at her and plastered a fake smile on her face. "Nothing, everything's fine."

Rose crossed her arms over her chest, her foot tapping impatiently on the pavement. "Don't lie to me, mister," she said, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "Tell me what's wrong, now."

Scorpius rose his eyebrows, his arms folded in front of him. "No," he said, his voice clipped. "You can't make me."

Rose's mouth fell open. Whenever she pulled that face with her cousins they all gave her whatever she wanted, she wasn't used to being talked back to and she didn't think she liked it. She glared at him murderously, raising her chin in the air. Scorpius almost cringed at her scary expression, but held his ground.

"Tell me, you insufferable git," she all but growled.

Scorpius felt fear tingle up his spine and he had to force himself to not step away as she leaned towards him menacingly. "No, I won't," he said, but his voice was already weaker than last time. Merlin, this girl was scary!

Rose huffed angrily. "Friends tell each other things, Scorpius. If you want to be my friend, you have to tell me why you're upset."

Scorpius felt torn. He really, really wanted Rose to be his friend, but he didn't want to just roll over and let her win either . . . he bit the inside of his cheek nervously, wondering what the right thing to say was. After a few moments of deliberating, he sighed in defeat. "Fine," he muttered bitterly. "I was upset because you wanted to go home and not hang out with my anymore."

"Oh," Rose said, frowning. "I'm sorry. I like being your friend, and I do want to hang out with you . . . I know! Do you want to sleepover? I'm sure my parents would let you!"

Scorpius's eyes widened, looking over at his parents. He looked back at her and grinned. "Let's ask my parents!"

* * *

"Mum? Dad?" Rose called once she exited the fireplace. She wiped the soot off of her clothes before stepping aside, looking around the room. She saw her school books lying on the table and scowled. A moment later Scorpius arrived, stepping gracefully out of the flames and looking around the room curiously.

Rose started walking towards the door to the living room before she stopped. She turned back towards Scorpius, who was right behind her. "Why don't you wait here," she gestured towards the kitchen table. "They're not expecting you, so I don't want to shock them."

Scorpius nodded, taking a seat at the table and watching her leave the room.

When Rose opened the door to the living room no one even looked up. She stepped into the room and slammed the door shut behind her, glaring at her family, who had all jammed themselves into the living room. It was actually quite a large room, but with the entire family here it looked small and jam-packed.

Everyone jumped as the door snapped loudly into place, looking over at her in shock.

"Hey, Rosie," her Mum smiled. "How are your books?"

Rose narrowed her eyes at her Mother - something she had only ever done a handful of times in the past, mind you -, her face hard. "I wouldn't know," she snipped. "Because you have them."

Hermione shared a look with her husband, who looked just as clueless as she did by their daughters answer. "What are you talking about, baby girl?" Ron asked after a moment of awkward silence. "We left them on the kitchen table."

"Yes, and you left _me _in Diagon Alley," said Rose angrily, her cheeks burning.

Everyone's mouth fell open. Okay, maybe not _everyone_, but most everyone, Rose decided. It was kind of hard to get the whole Weasley-Potter clan to have one facial expression, but just then they were all almost identical. Rose would have giggled had she not been so angry.

"We did not," her Uncle George finally said. "I remember we were planning - oh, wait, that was earlier this morning. . . ."

Rose, unable to glare at her favorite uncle, merely nodded at her feet. "Yeah."

Charlie gaped at her. "But that means you've been there alone for-"

"Four hours," Rose said, looking over at the clock on the mantle. It was half past eight now. "Give or take a half-hour or two."

Harry almost smiled at his favorite niece's comment, but held back. It was obvious she was very angry, and having both Ron _and_ Hermione's temper Harry knew she wouldn't appreciate his amusement right now.

Albus was staring at her with a guilty expression. "Rosie, I didn't know, I swear. If any of us had known we would have gone straight back for you."

Rose felt a lump rise in her throat, but decided she couldn't cry in front of her cousins. If she did that they would never let her live it down, and she would never be known as the 'scary' cousin again. No matter how upset she was, Rose was not ready to lose that title just yet.

"I know that," she finally said, her voice even. She looked at every single one of her families guilty faces. "But none of you even noticed, did you?"

By the way everyone cringed and looked around proved to Rose that they hadn't. She scowled darkly.

"We figured you were out reading your books like you always do," Fred said defensively. James nodded beside him. Both of them had dropped their playing card when they saw Rose enter the room in a tiff. Rose was the favorite of all the cousins, _everyone _loved Rose best, and James and Fred were about to beat up whoever had made her so angry before they realized it had been them. All of them, together.

"And you didn't notice that all my books were still on the kitchen table?" Rose asked, both eyebrows up. "I was just in there, none of them have been moved. What did you do; eat around them?"

"We ate outside," Granddad piped up, looking guiltier than the rest. Rose's eyes softened as her eyes fell over him. He looked so distraught. "But that's no excuse."

Grandma nodded beside him, the two of them sitting on the loveseat. Molly's eyes were filled with tears as she looked at her Granddaughter. "With all our kids we've never left one behind. Not once. I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

Everyone else immediately began apologizing and Rose's face softened. "I was planning to chew you all out for a few more days, but I suppose I can forgive you now."

Laughing, everyone started to ask Rose questions.

"How did you get home?" Hermione asked.

"What did you do?" Roxanne asked curiously.

"Did you meet anyone cool?" Louis asked excitedly.

"I hope you didn't cause any trouble," Percy said sternly.

"She better have caused at least _some _trouble," George said, giving his brother an eye roll.

"Start at the beginning, baby girl," Ron said.

So Rose started at the very beginning of when the left, going right up to the point when she had come here with Scorpius - leaving out the parts where she was crying and making it sound like she was really brave and didn't even tear up. The younger cousins looked impressed while the adults all looked disbelieving. When she had finished, telling them about how Scorpius was in the kitchen right now everyone was frozen with shock.

"You mean there's a Malfoy in my kitchen right now?" Arthur asked, glancing at the door and back to Rose.

Rose nodded. "Is it okay if he spends the night? He's really nice - I think you'd all like him."

Percy scoffed loudly. "Unlikely."

Rose's eyes narrowed dangerously at him and he immediately retracted his last statement.

"I mean," he stuttered, "_It's likely_."

George laughed. "It's likely? Rosie, if you trust him that's enough for me. Is he any good with pranks?"

Rosie beamed at her uncle. "I dunn-"

"Hold on a second here," Ron cut in angrily, standing up. "You haven't asked your parents yet!"

Rose looked over at her parents, her sweetest smile planted on her face. Ginny hid her laughing behind a grinning Harry's shoulder.

"Can Scopius sleep over?" Rose asked eagerly, her blue eyes wide.

Hermione looked over at Ron, her eyes clearly saying 'yes' while his clearly said 'no'.

Ron frowned, leaning towards his wife and whispering, loud enough for Rose to hear, "I don't like it, Hermione. We don't even know this kid."

Rose's eyes narrowed. "Need I remind you that you _forgot _me today, Daddy? After you promised that you would never let that happen to your 'Precious Baby Girl'."

"I never-"

"You did," Rose cut her Dad off before he could get a full sentence out. "And now that you've broken that promise to me I get one free 'Do-Whatever-I-Want' card. And this is what I'm choosing to use it for."

Harry sniggered as Ron gaped at his daughter. There was no way he could refuse Rose now, and everyone knew it. Ron, though, was just was stubborn as his daughter, and wouldn't go down without a fight. Hermione smartly stayed out of it, letting Ron and Rose deal with their tempers.

"Now, listen hear, young lady," he said, pointing a finger at her. "I'm the Father here, so what I say goes. And I say I don't want that Malfoy boy in my house."

Rose stared at him coolly. Slowly, she pointed towards her wrist, saying. "I broke my wrist. Mr. Malfoy fixed it, and they bought be ice cream."

Ron felt all his anger deflate out of him. "Fine," he said gruffly, frowning as his daughter squealed in delight. "But if he lays one finger on you that is the end of this friendship, understand?"

Nodding enthusiastically, Rose threw herself at her Dad and hugged him tight, kissing his cheek as she pulled back. "You're the best, Daddy!" she said before skipping out of the room, giving her grinning Uncle George a high-five on the way out.

Just as the door clicked shut, Ginny burst into loud laughter. "She has got us all so wrapped around her little finger."

"Yeah, and she knows it, too," Hermione muttered, shaking her head.

"They said it was fine," she said once she was back in the Kitchen with Scorpius. He was sitting alone at the table, his face amused.

"Were you listening?" she asked sharply, crossing her arms.

Scorpius looked worried for a moment, like she might take back her invitation for a sleepover if he admitted the truth, but after a moment nodded.

Rose rolled her eyes at him. "Honestly, I would have done the same thing. Now, come meet the family." Scorpius gave her a look that clearly said she was crazy. "Oh, come on now, they'll be nice."

Looking scared, Scorpius nodded before following Rose into the family room.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.**

**Author's Note: **Please be kind and leave a review! There will be another chapter to this within a few days, so look out for it!

It's my very first story on FanFiction, so I'd really like some feedback.

**xx Tiponi xx**


	2. Found

**Just to clear a few things up, they were eleven in the last chapter, and continue to be eleven in the beginning of this one. :)**

* * *

The morning of September first was crisp and cool, a soft wind blowing as the sun shone down on the craziness of the Burrow. It was a Weasley-Potter tradition that the last day before Hogwarts was spent at the Burrow with the Grandparents. Grandma always made a big breakfast that hardly anyone touched and there was a guarantee of chaos.

Rose was outside with her Granddad, listening intently as he showed her how to enlarge vans (they used to take cars, but there were too many cousins now) to fit all their bags in the trunk. It was actually quite fascinating.

"It's a fairly simple spell, and a very handy one," he explained, his wand pointed towards the car and moving in some complicated wrist movement. "The most important part is the movements - they have to be spot on or it doesn't work."

Rose nodded, her blue eyes bright with excitement. "Granddad?" she asked, and he nodded his head to show he was listening. "What if I don't get in Gryffindor?"

Arthur turned towards the curly-haired girl, giving her a smile as he stashed his wand in his robes. He bent down to her height, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Rose, you know that doesn't matter. We're all going to love you no matter what House you get into."

Taking a deep breath, Rose nodded. She gave her Granddad a smile and a peck on the cheek. "Thank you."

He chuckled, straightening up. "Don't mention it, love. Now, let's get packing. It's almost ten and we've got a lot to fit in here."

An hour later the whole group was rushing into King's Cross Station. There weren't enough trolleys for the lot of them so most of them were sharing, while others were pulling or carrying their own stuff. Nobody minded, though. How could they? They were going to Hogwarts.

Rose took hold of Albus's hand nervously. Giving her hand a squeeze, Albus sent her a smile. "We'll be fine, Rosie."

"Swear?"

"Swear."

"Oh, dear!" Molly exclaimed, looking at the clock above the wall. It read ten-fifty five. "Hurry, dears! We don't want to miss the train!"

"Then we would have to drive the van to Hogwarts!" Ron joked, sending Harry a grin which he returned. Hermione rolled her eyes at her husband and best friend. James, Louis and Fred slowed their walk to a crawl, each of them smirking widely at each other.

Molly scowled darkly at her sons. "Honestly, you two, don't give them any ideas! You two were awful in school and I'm glad that this lot has enough sense to keep their noses out of trouble."

Most of the Weasley-Potter clan blushed - students that had already been through Hogwarts and didn't have hands _quite _as clean as Grandma Weasley was hoping, and adults who thought back to their years in Hogwarts with a guilty conscience. Albus, Rose and all the younger kids just watched enviously as they all reminisced.

"Next year that'll be us," Albus said. "Thinking about the old days at Hogwarts. All the fun we had."

"All the stuff we learned," Rose added.

"All the friends we made."

"All our favorite Professors."

Nodding, Albus said, "We'll actually be able to participate in these conversations they have about Hogwarts."

Lily, Roxanne, and Hugo - who weren't going to Hogwarts for another year - glared at them.

"We have to wait another whole year before we even know what they're talking about," Lily said darkly, sniffling indignantly. "Why can't I go now?"

Rose threw her arm around her cousins shoulder consolingly. "We'll write to you all the time, Lils, and we'll send pictures so you'll get a head-start."

Lily smiled, Roxanne and Hugo beaming beside her as they stared at Rose in admiration. "Really?"

"Promise," Rose said with a smile just as they reached the wall between platforms 9 and 10. Half the family had already disappeared. Looking over at Al, who nodded at her, Rose ran towards the wall, running straight through it until she ended up on the other side.

Looking around, Rose saw that Platform 9 3/4 was filled with red-heads. It made Rose giggle as she looked around the train station; there were red-heads everywhere! Stretching on tip-toes to see over her family, Rose scanned over the brunettes as well. Rose's eyes finally spotted her objective, the only completely blonde family in the room: the Malfoys.

Waving one arm high over her head, Rose beamed at the trio. Scorpius spotted her and grinned hugely, waving back just as enthusiastically. Draco and Astoria smiled at her, each giving her a small wave. Daphne, Scorpius's little sister, jumped up and down as she waved excitedly at her. Rose gave her an extra smile.

Waiting for her parents and Hugo seemed like a chore as she was excited to be off to Hogwarts, but Rose tried her best to be patient. When they finally came through the wall, Ron helped Rose load her trunk onto the train just as the first warning whistle blew.

"You've only got a few minutes, baby girl," Ron said, reaching down to give his daughter a tight hug. "Have fun, yeah? I love you."

"Love you too, Daddy," she said, hugging him tight.

"Make sure to get your studying in before messing around, okay?" Hermione said once she had her daughter in her arms. "Don't let your cousins distract you."

Rose smiled. "I'll be fine, Mum, promise."

"I know, sweetie," Hermione smoothed her daughters hair. "Write to us, okay?"

"Of course," Rose promised. "And I'll make sure Albus writes his parents, too. You know how forgetful he is."

Ron chuckled. "See you at Christmas, baby girl."

"Bye, Hugo," Rose said, giving her little brother a hug. "I'll make sure to send you letters, and pictures."

Hugo grinned as Rose winked at him. "Love you, Rosie."

"Love you too," she said, ruffling his hair. Harry and Ginny walked up to them, Lily and Albus in tow. Giving her Aunt and Uncle each a hug, Rose turned to Albus. "Ready?"

Albus nodded, looking nervous but determined.

"Give everyone my love, and tell them I'll write them all soon," Rose called back to her family, waving before stepping onto the train behind Albus. "And tell Uncle George to expect that toilet seat!"

She heard her Uncle Harry and Dad laugh as her Mum warned her not to do anything of the sort. Aunt Ginny called out her love to her and Albus as the doors closed behind them.

"Let's find a compartment," Albus said, tugging Dustin, his owl, behind him. Rose held her kitten's cage in her hand, Minion meowing softly from inside.

"I need to find Scorpius," Rose said, stopping Albus. "He said he'd save us seats."

Albus made a face that Rose didn't miss. "Rosie, I don't want to sit with Scorpius," he said, his voice bordering on being whiny. "We don't get on well. You know that."

"That's because you haven't given him a proper chance," Rose snapped, her eyes narrowing at her cousin. "Scorpius has been perfectly nice to you and you've been horrid. All the family has. The only one who's actually given him a real try was Uncle George, and Uncle George adores Scorpius. Have you heard him go on about him?"

"He's a Malfoy, Rose," Albus protested hotly, his free hand gesturing madly towards her. "You've read the papers, and heard the stories! They're not known for being nice."

"That's all in the past now, Albus. Scorpius is lovely, and if you gave him a chance you would see that!"

With that, Rose spun on her heel and flounced away, the whistle from the train over-riding Albus's voice calling her back with his apology.

She found Scorpius within a few minutes, taking a seat across from him in the otherwise empty compartment and falling into easy conversation. Everything with Scorpius was easy, and she loved that about him. Ten minutes had passed when there was a knock on the compartment door. It slid open and Albus stood there, looking exteremely guilty.

"Hi," he said, giving both of them a shy smile. "Look, Rose, I'm really sorry. You were right about everything."

Rose looked him up and down stiffly, her arms crossed tightly across her chest. "Really?" she asked, one eyebrow raised in scrutiny.

Albus gave one quick nod.

"_Everything?_" Rose pressed.

"Everything," Albus repeated.

Rose suddenly beamed, much to both boys surprise, and pulled Albus into the compartment, letting the door shut behind him with a quiet snap. Things between the boys were awkward at first, but by the time the train pulled into the Hogsmeade station that evening Albus and Scorpius were friends.

No one was surprised when Scorpius Malfoy was placed in Slytherin. He was received enthusiastically by all the students there. What really surprised everyone was when Rose Weasley was placed in Slytherin as well. She must have been the first Weasley to _ever _be sorted outside of Gryffindor, let alone into Slytherin. Her family had just started cheering for her - all of them sitting at the Gryffindor table together - when they all stopped and stared, frozen, as she skipped over to the Slytherin table and took her place next to Scorpius, the two of them sharing a grin.

Rose felt the knots in her stomach disappear when her family started cheering so loud that they outstripped the Slytherins who were cheering for their new House mate. Rose knew, in that moment, that her Granddad was right; she would always have her family, no matter what. She sent them all a dazzling grin.

Her parents took it better than she had thought. She knew her Mum would be accepting of it, but her Daddy was a Gryffindor through and through. She was unsure of how he would feel until he wrote to her, the letter he wrote released every bit of Rose's insecurities. She smiled all through her sleep that night, the letter laying under her pillow.

Her days were spent chiefly with Scorpius, the two of them sitting next to each other in every class. The two classes they had with Gryffindor were spent with her sandwiched between Albus and Scorpius as they played Hangman (despite the fact that she was _between _them) and tried to get her to join. She refused every time, opting to take notes and actually pay attention.

Christmas holidays were split between the Burrow and Malfoy Manner. They made sure to split the time evenly, spending Christmas morning at Malfoy Manor (the new and improved Malfoy Manor, which she heard was much more homely and comfortable than the last), and opening presents with Scorpius's little sister, Daphne, and Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, who were always very welcoming towards Rose. Christmas evening was spent at the Burrow with Rose's crazy family. It had become a tradition at the Burrow to open presents after dinner. The whole family gathered for the meal, and Uncle George specifically invited Scorpius to the event, making sure the two were seated right next to each other.

Before she knew it, Rose was home from the holidays, taking her exams and on the way home again, her first year forever remembered in her mind as the very best year she had ever had.

Not surprisingly, second year was even better. By now, everyone had warmed up to Scorpius and they were all treating him like part of the family. Even Ron, who Rose swore would never be fully used to him, shared moments laughing and joking with him, telling Rose that maybe he wasn't so bad, and that he supposed he was okay with their friendship. Rose had laughed when he told her this, but she was touched all the same.

Rose and Scorpius spent all their time together. Every spare moment they spent in each others company; studying, playing Quidditch or pranks, eating, doing nothing - it didn't matter what they were doing. Everyone in Hogwarts knew that where one was, the other was sure to be right behind.

Albus was with them sometimes as well, but he spent most of his time with his Gryffindor friends, who were all nice to Rose but not entirely welcoming to Scorpius. Where the Slytherins had welcomed Scorpius and Rose (Slytherin House was a lot closer than any of the other House's realized - everyone was family there), the other Houses were still wary of him. Rose paid no attention to any of them, though, always sticking close by Scorpius and standing up for him when he was made fun of by anyone. Eventually, everyone backed off.

Third year was much the same; new classes, new spells, new charms, new things to learn. Rose and Scorpius both drank up all the knowledge like sponges, learning everything they could about the Magical World and ranking first or second (only ever second to the other one) in all their classes.

The two became closer every year, now starting to drive people mad with the way they could communicate so clearly through facial expressions and half-conversations. When with them you never knew just what they were talking about. Albus found it insufferable and relied more on his Gryffindor mates than ever.

Fourth year was the year Rose was introduced to her first boyfriend, Luke Kinsel, a Ravenclaw in the same year as her. The two spent every night together, curled up by the fire doing homework. Rose became almost obsessed with him, spending all her time with him and practically ignoring Scorpius. Rose was searching for him one day while Luke was at Quidditch practice and was going mad, finding that he was avoiding all their usual hang outs.

"You've been avoiding me," she said, once she finally found him. He was sitting on the steps outside the Owlry - somewhere she hardly ever went because she had a cat. And she would only ever send letters with the morning or evening post to save her the trip. Scorpius was holding his head in frustration, the snow flying around him busily.

"No, I haven't," he said, his lips blue and numb from the cold. "You've just been too busy to notice me."

Rose felt her eyes narrow. "Don't make this out to be my fault. _You're _the one who should be apologizing here, not me."

Scorpius turned towards her incredulously. "Are you kidding me, Rose? You haven't spoken to me in a week! I haven't been avoiding you, you've been ignoring me because of your stupid boyfriend."

"So that's what this is about?" Rose seethed, feeling her hackles rise. "Merlin, I'm allowed to have a boyfriend, Scorpius. As my best friend you should be supporting me, not throwing it back into my face!"

"In what world would I support this?" Scorpius exclaimed angrily, standing up and facing her, his face flushed. "You spend all your time with him and completely ignore everyone else-"

"I do no-"

"When was the last time you talked to your family? When was the last time you sent a letter home to your Mum and Dad? They sent _me _a letter because they were so worried about you, Rose," he said, his voice hard. "It's not healthy. I get that you like him, but you can't just shut everyone else out."

Rose shuffled in the snow as he walked away, his body twitching in an agitated sort of way. She knew immediately that he was right. Guilt flooded through her and she turned towards the Owlry, walking in and writing everyone in her family a lengthy letter about what she had been doing recently.

The next day, Scorpius was finishing off his potions essay in his bedroom when the door was flung open and Rose walked in. She walked over to his bed and sat down next to him, pulling out her school books and starting on her Transfiguration homework without a word. Scorpius couldn't help the brilliant smile that lit his face; he had his best friend back.

A week later everything fell apart. Scorpius was just getting into his pajamas when his door was thrown open. "Merlin, Rose!" he exclaimed, hopping behind his bed and pulling his pants on quickly. He walked back around, looking for his shirt. She still hadn't said anything to him and Scorpius looked up curiously. She was standing in the doorway, face flushed and tears streaming down from her eyes. When he saw her his face went pale and he walked right over to her, pulling her into his arms without a word and letting her cry into his chest.

She cried her way through most of the night, and Scorpius held her, brushing his fingers through her hair and trying to smooth out the unruly curls. When she finally stopped, they just lay there on his bed, neither knowing what to say.

"Don't tell my family," Rose blurted out after a few minutes.

Scorpius's arms tightened around her. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Rose wiped her eyes and sat up, crossing her legs Indian style. "It's just - Luke - he broke up with me - I was so stupid - he said I was ignoring him - I didn't pay enough attention - I'm so stupid - I hate him, I really do - don't tell James or Albus -"

Scorpius would have laughed at her rambling had he not been so furious with Luke. His mind immediately started forming plans of revenge - pranks, duels, sabotage. He would need to get in touch with George Weasley. There had to be some new item still in prototype faze that he was dying to try out on someone. Scorpius knew Uncle George wouldn't ask too many questions, and would keep things confidential. If he told him it was about Rose, he would help out for sure.

"Don't do anything to him, Scorp," Rose said as though reading his mind. "And don't bring Uncle George into this. It's not worth it. . . . _he's _not worth it."

"Yeah, I know," Scorpius said, "But you are."

Rose felt her pulse quicken. Her face flushed red and Rose couldn't stop her heart beat from doubling time. She looked up at Scorpius and gave him a smile. She didn't feel sad about Luke and her broken heart anymore. How could she? She had Scorpius.

Fifth year brought the promise of stress and more work than ever before. Rose and Scorpius were constantly working at perfect scores for their OWL's, expecting nothing less than O's in all subjects from themselves. All free time was spent in the library, and neither one of them socialized much with anyone outside of the two of them and the occasional Weasley or Potter. No one else dared interrupt them.

When the tests finally came, Rose was more nervous than she had ever felt in her life. Scorpius was hiding his nerves better, but Rose could see the anxiety lurking behind his facade. They had been best friends for five years, after all. After they were finished, she felt fairly confident with her work.

Summer came and Scorpius and Rose received their 12 O.W.L.'s (all O's), and both their parents were thrilled, but no one was more excited than the two of them were for each other.

Sixth year they decided to let loose and have fun - most nights were spent hanging out and playing pranks with Louis, Fred, James and Albus. The six of them because feared with their wicked pranks, but earned a lot of respect; most people giving them standing ovations for their particularly clever pranks. They received several detentions (more in one year than Rose had ever received in all other five years at Hogwarts - which wasn't hard to do seeing as she never had one before) and got several points docked from Slytherin House. After a few months of this, Slytherins decided to buckle down on them and made them stop. Feeling particularly good about their rebellion, Rose and Scorpius promised to stop and only helped out with pranks when they knew they wouldn't get caught. The rest of the year was spent happily, the two and Albus hanging out almost constantly through the whole year and most of the Summer.

In their seventh year together something changed. Rose started to realize just how much attention Scorpius was getting from the female population of Hogwarts (by now, everyone had pretty much forgotten the Malfoy reputation, and everyone treated him like anyone else) and Rose was constantly getting annoyed with all the flirting and winking. Scorpius didn't even notice all the girls, only noticing that Rose almost always had admirers wherever she went. Some bloke was always standing just a little too close to her and he felt like snapping their hands off every time they put their arm around her.

The two became tense with each other, getting into more fights than they had ever had before, always screaming and yelling about pointless things that had never upset either of them until now.

"Will you just listen to me?" Rose snapped, nostrils flaring and eyes narrowed. Scorpius had his arms crossed tight across his chest, his breathing heavy with anger. "You're not even listening to me!"

"I didn't even do anything!" Scorpius exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "I was just standing here, _listening_, and you're making a big deal about nothing!"

"I am not making a big deal about nothing!" Rose screamed shrilly, making Scorpius flinch when the high note hurt his ear drums.

"All I said was that he was a pervert. I was speaking my mind, I can say whatever I want."

"He is not a pervert! He was saying hello, he put his arm around me. Maybe I liked him and asked him to, did you ever think of that?"

Scorpius's eyes narrowed. "How can you like him? You've never liked him before. You always hated him."

Rose shuffled unsurely. "Well, I don't actually like him, but you didn't know that!" she added, just as she heard Scorpius exclamation of victory.

"Everyone knows that, Rose," Scorpius said with a roll of his eyes. "Because everyone knows you're _not_ an idiot - and you would have to be an idiot to like him."

Rose sat down on the couch in their common room. Since they were Head's together they got their own place - common room, bathrooms, dorms, even a little kitchenette where they could make drinks and snacks. She heaved a sigh and turned to look up at him, her blue eyes wide. "Why are we fighting, Scorpius? We're supposed to be best friends."

"Best friends fight sometimes," Scorpius said, sighing as he took a seat next to her. He laced his fingers through hers unconsciously, rubbing her hand softly with his thumb. "It happens."

Rose stared down at their conjoined hands, not saying anything. She felt tingles where he touched her and Rose was transfixed. No one had ever made her feel like this before. What the bloody hell was going on?

"I have to go," she said, jumping up and running towards her room, slamming the door behind her. She fell on her bed with a groan, not knowing what had just happened, but knowing that it scared her. A lot.

"I just don't know, Aunt Ginny," Rose said, walking next to her aunt through the snow on Christmas Eve. Both woman were wrapped up tightly in their coats, scarves and hats, walking away from the Burrow towards the quiet field that lay behind it. "I don't know what it was, but I felt it. In my bones, y'know? It wasn't there one minute, and then it was everything I could feel." Rose looked up at her aunt unsurely. "Am I making sense?"

Ginny nodded, a smile on her lips. "Yeah, Rose, you are. I know exactly how you feel."

"You do?" Rose asked eagerly.

"Yup," Ginny said. "I feel the same way when I'm with Harry. You love him, Rosie. You have for a long time, you just didn't realize it."

Rose gaped at her Aunt. "W-what? No! He's my best friend - it's not like that - never going to happen -"

"It will, sweetie," Ginny said with a laugh. "And I'll bet anything he loves you as well." Rose gave her aunt a disbelieving look. "Believe me, Rose. I don't lie and you know it. You love him. That's the feeling that completely over-rides everything else. That's the feeling you get in your bones when he holds your hand. When you're heart starts beating fast and you're stomach twists in knots? That's what loving someone is like."

"It's not pleasant," Rose muttered, her nose crinkling. Ginny laughed in amusement.

"Not a first," Ginny agreed. "But once you talk to him about this, it'll be the most beautiful thing in the world."

Rose stared at Ginny for a moment before sighing. "He doesn't think of me like that, Aunt Ginny, and he's never going to."

"Honey," Ginny said, stopping and facing her. "Listen to me, that boy has loved you since the first day he met you. Why else would he have put up with your family for so long? In the beginning we were horrid to him - everyone knows that, but he stuck around. For you. If that's not love then I'll eat Hagrid's beard."

Rose giggled at her aunt. "D'you really think so?"

"I know so," Ginny said assuredly. "Just talk to him."

After the holidays, Rose tried to find the perfect time to talk to Scorpius. Whenever she finally summoned up her courage to tell him how she felt, he would always have something to do and would have to leave. He started acting off with her and Rose didn't want to make him even more uncomfortable so she stopped trying. What if he knew she had feelings for him and didn't feel the same way?

Rose began getting more and more nervous everyday. Every time they talked, she stuttered and mumbled and couldn't even speak half the time. After their N.E.W.T.'s, Rose decided enough was enough. They were about to graduate, for Merlin's sake! They needed to get over this now or they never would.

"Scorpius?" Rose asked, the portrait hole to their common room shutting behind her. "You here?"

Hearing a muffled noise from the kitchen, Rose strode over there, stopping in surprise when she saw Scorpius standing there, staring at her, a giant bouquet of flowers in his hand and an adorable, nervous grin on his face.

"Okay, I know this is really cheesy, but I was talking with my Dad about this and he said to keep to the classic, cliche stuff. So, that's what I'm doing."

Scorpius took a step forward and handed her the bouquet of beautiful red roses. Rose accepted them while staring at him in shock.

"Those are for you - try not to kill them." Rose smiled at him despite herself - he knew she couldn't keep a plant alive to save her life. Herbology was definitely her worst subject. "I know we've been best friends for a long time - seven years, to be exact - and I know that we've had our share of fights and I wouldn't really blame you if you didn't feel the same way about me, but I just need to know. . . . I _need_ to know if you feel the same way."

Rose's breath caught in her throat and Scorpius licked his lips.

"It's okay if you don't, we can go back to being friends. I'll try my best to move on and try to remember that it isn't your fault. It's my stupid heart - it's faulty, I swear, because every single time I get around you it goes mad. It jumps around in my chest and aches and there's nothing I can do to stop it. I'm not even sure if I want to stop it, because it feels good when I hold your hand, and I wouldn't give that up for the world. You're my very best friend, Rose, and I think that's why it's so easy to love you. Because I do. I love you, Rose. I love you so much it hurts. I don't know how long I've loved you, but I know that I love you more than anyone else. And if you would give me a chance, I know I can make you happy. I know I can love you better than anyone else, because I know you better than anyone else. And I love every single bit of you. I wouldn't change one crazy, unruly hair on your head, Rose. . . . so, please, just give us a chance."

It only took a moment for it to sink it. He loved her. Rose couldn't help the brilliant smile that covered her face as she dropped her flowers and jumped on him, kissing him like she'd never kissed anyone before. Scorpius froze in shock for a moment, but quickly got past it, joining in on the kiss as he wrapped his arms around her tightly. And two best friends were suddenly so much more.

No one was surprised when they walked to the Great Hall the next morning hand-in-hand. No one even flinched when Rose kissed Scorpius before going to hang out with Lily and Hugo for a few hours. No one reacted when Scorpius pulled Rose into a broom cupboard for a snog. No one gossiped about them. Everyone was just relieved that they had finally gotten together.

Even Ron wasn't too shocked when they stepped off the train and onto Platform 9 3/4 hand-in-hand - Rose giggling madly and Scorpius kissing her cheek - he just said, "Hey, baby girl," and gave Scorpius a slightly strained nod.

Hermione, Ginny and all the other female adult relatives 'aww'ed and 'ooh'ed at them, all with large grins on their faces. Fred, Louis and James - who had graduated the year before - barely cringed in disgust. They did, however, threaten to break every bone in Scorpius's body if he hurt their favorite cousin. Scorpius promised not to, sounding so sincere that no one could doubt him.

Draco and Astoria were happy, Draco hugging his son as Scorpius relayed the story to him. Astoria hugging Rose so tight that she couldn't breath.

"Thank you so much," Astoria said, tears pooling in her eyes. "For loving my boy. You were the best friend we could have hoped he could find, and I'm so glad you stuck by him. He wouldn't be the man he is today without you."

Rose blushed red, hugging Astoria tightly. She looked at her family; Scorpius was messing around with her cousins, while Draco was making light, albeit strained, conversation with her uncles, aunts and parents, and she felt whole. She knew that everyone would stand by her and Scorpius.

So when she pulled the ring that Scorpius had given her out of her pocket and slid it onto her finger, she had no fear. Because, she knew, no matter what happened, she would have them. _All _of them.

She caught Scorpius's eye and winked before walking over to her Mum to show her the pretty diamond ring on her finger, knowing full well that she had a bright future ahead.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Author's Note: **And that's the end of my two-shot. I'm really happy with this story, and I hope you enjoyed reading it.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed!(: You inspired me to write edit this chapter SO much faster.

**xx Tiponi xx**


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